Fantasy Baseball Today

Olympic Viewer's Guide: Friday, August 10

Trying to watch the Olympics? Even with NBC now streaming every event live online, the wild array of events -- and difficulty in finding events, for anyone like us not interested in avoiding spoilers all day -- can make the viewing experience a bit bewildering. But we're here to help. Here's our chronological list of the events U.S. Olympic fans should consider watching, and where, for Friday.

South Africa's Oscar Pistorius runs in his final Olympic race Friday, the 4x400 relay. (Getty Images)

Trying to watch the Olympics? Even with NBC now streaming every event live online, the wild array of events -- and difficulty in finding live events, for anyone like us not interested in avoiding spoilers all day -- can make the television viewing experience a bit bewildering.

But we're here to help. Here's our chronological list of the events U.S. Olympic fans should consider watching, and where, for Friday, Aug. 10. All times Eastern and all events are live action unless otherwise noted. (Events broadcast on NBC will be on a one-hour delay for Mountain and Pacific viewers. Sorry.) Many secondary events are also subject to change.

The load is starting to really lighten. A lot of the athletes have long left London, their medals, personal achievements or disappointments in tow. With fewer and fewer events to be held, it's getting easier to watch what you want. Here's the best of what awaits you Friday:

denotes medal event

9:20 a.m.: Men's water polo, NBC Sports Network

Gold is out of the question, but if the men want to get a shot at bronze, they've got to beat Spain.

2 p.m. evening session, live NBCOlympics.com. Most will air on NBC (tape-delay) at 8 p.m.

It's a loaded day for track and field events, as the relays get going with medals on the line. Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Tyson Gay, Justin Gatlin -- they'll all be running again Friday. U.S. participants in parentheses below. And on top of all that? The final look at Oscar Pistorius, as South Africa was awarded a spot in the final after an awkward collision on the track in the semis put them out of it.

2 p.m: Men's pole vault (Brad Walker)

2:35 p.m.: Women's hammer throw (None)

2:45 p.m.: Men's 4x100 preliminary (Jamaica, including Bolt, will run in Heat 1; U.S. will run in Heat 2)

Will this be the first real test for Team USA? Will the game end within 15 points? It's unlikely, but now we're into a situation where a win means playing for gold. The U.S. needs no further motivation. If anything, I wonder if LeBron, Kobe and Co. go out and try to win by 40. They can't do that against Argentina in this spot, but I wonder if they'll try to. It's the third meeting in three weeks between the teams.

Other events:

Men's swimming. Yes, you read correctly: swimming. But the open-water kind. You know, the one the women swam to a photo finish Thursday. The race gets underway at 7 a.m. and should be done by 8:40. Available online at NBCOlympics.com, and will air on NBC at 11:30 a.m.

BMX. The women start at 11:30, the men at 11:40. No, no one can really explain to me why or how this became an Olympic event -- while a real Olympic event, Tug of War, just sits in cryogenics, waiting for its revival -- but get your X Games on, should you choose.

Field hockey. The women play for the gold. It's the Netherlands vs. Argentina. The Netherlands took gold four years ago; Argentina settled for bronze. This will air live at 3 p.m. on NBCOlympics.com and on tape delay on CNBC some time after 5 p.m.

Taekwondo. Listen, I can't sit here and pretend to tell you I know my 'do. But here's what NBC's Olympic site says about the men's final. "[American] Steven Lopez already has his face carved into the Mount Rushmore of taekwondo athletes. By making the podium in London, he’ll cement his status as the best ever." So he's got that going for him, which is nice. He fights in the final at 5:30 p.m., and it will air live on CNBC.

Matt Norlander is a national award-winning senior writer who has been with CBS Sports since 2010. He's in his eighth season covering college basketball for CBS, and also covers the NBA Draft, the Olympics,...
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